WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—William & Mary women's soccer returns to the site of Thursday's thrilling quarterfinal win when they take on Towson, Sunday, in Towson, Md. for the CAA semifinals. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on FloFC.
TRIBE NOTES
Last Time Out
Fifth-seeded W&M took down Northeastern 7-6 in a penalty kick shootout on Thursday to advance to the conference semifinals.
Ivey Crain gave the Tribe the lead in the first half, receiving a cross from
Molly Widderich and finishing it off with a header goal. The fourth-seeded Huskies were able to equalize the game in the 79
th minute, forcing the match to overtime at 1-1. After a pair of mundane overtime periods things ramped up in the shootout. Both teams converted on their first six penalties until
Morgan Wood made a diving stop to her left to give the Green and Gold a chance to win. Another Tribe keeper,
Zoe Doughty, punched the Tribe's ticket to the semis by converting her penalty in the top right corner of the goal.
Only Four Remain
Alongside the Tribe and the regular season champion Tigers, Monmouth and Hofstra complete the four teams still vying for a CAA title. The Tribe is in the semifinals for the first time since 2017 and are looking to punch their ticket to the conference championship for the first time since 2015. W&M's last CAA championship came in 2011. A trip to the finals would be the fourth time in the last 20 years the Tribe has appeared in the CAA title game.
Shootout Success
The shootout victory was the first time the Tribe advanced on penalty kicks in the CAA Tournament since 2016. That game also came in the quarterfinals with W&M clipping UNCW 5-4 in the shootout. The Green and Gold have now won their last three games that were decided by PKs. They beat UCF in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament by a 3-1 shootout decision.
CAA Standouts
The Tribe had a trio of players honored on Wednesday when the conference announced their All-CAA teams.
Nicole Sellers earned her first career all-conference honor, being put on the first team. Crain was All-CAA for the second year in a row, being named to the second team. Widderich represented W&M with an all-rookie team selection.
Double Digits, Double the Fun
With a win on Sunday the Tribe would not only advance to the CAA final, but win 10+ games for the first time since 2016. It would be the 32
nd time in the program's 43 seasons W&M has recorded double digit wins.
Series History
Sunday's semifinal matchup will be the first time ever that Towson and the Tribe matchup in the postseason. The Green and Gold are looking to snap a three-game skid against the Tigers, including a 3-0 loss during the regular season in Williamsburg. The Tribe leads the overall series 14-5-2 as the teams meet for the 22
nd time on Sunday. W&M is 7-3-1 on the road against Towson with their last win at Tiger Field coming in 2018.
CAA Tournament Matchups
(QF) Thurs. Oct. 26- 4 PM | No. 6 Stony Brook (0) vs. No. 3 Monmouth (3) (at Hofstra)
(QF) Thurs. Oct. 26 -7 PM |
No. 5 William & Mary (1) vs. No. 4 Northeastern (1)-
W&M 7-6 on PKs (at Towson)
(Semis) Sun. Oct 29- 1 PM | No. 1 Towson vs.
No. 5 William & Mary (at Towson)
(Semis) Sun. Oct. 29- 1 PM | No. 2 Hofstra vs. No. 3 Monmouth (at Hofstra)
(Final) Sat. Nov. 4- TBD | CAA Championship Game (at Highest Remaining Seed)
